Rebel with a Cause

by Natalie Anderson

  ‘I’ve promised my mother I’d meet her to help with something at lunch.’

  ‘But you’re supposed to be making your jewellery. You’ve still got several pieces unfinished.’ He climbed to the stair just below hers.

  ‘I know,’ she said, pausing for a second to wonder how he knew—had he been poking around in her room up there? ‘But I promised.’

  He looked angrier than he had when he’d left last night. He stretched his hands out to the rails either side of the stairs so he made a wall she somehow had to get past. ‘But you’ve only got a week ’til the show.’

  She knew that too. ‘I’ll work on them later.’

  His eyes narrowed. ‘You don’t want to do it, do you? The exhibition.’

  ‘What? Of course I do.’

  ‘If you did you’d be prioritising it.’

  She stiffened at the implied criticism. ‘Things other than work have priority in my life, Lorenzo. People have priority.’ Which was more than could be said for him. As far as she could tell he lived for work and work alone. People—relationships—didn’t feature in the equation at all. ‘My mother has asked for help. I’m pleased to be able to.’

  ‘No, she could get someone else. It’s just that you can’t say no when someone asks you. It wouldn’t matter if it was her or anyone.’

  ‘And that’s a bad thing?’ She glared at him.

  ‘It is when it stops you from achieving your own dreams.’

  ‘Like I said, people come first for me, Lorenzo. Always.’

  ‘Aren’t you a person? Isn’t what you want just as valid as what others want? Surely if you explained how busy you were, she’d find someone else to do whatever it is. A paid assistant, perhaps?’

  She stiffened—but not because of the little jibe.

  His eyes narrowed. ‘She doesn’t know, does she?’ With scary precision he zoomed in on the problem.

  No, and Sophy didn’t want her to—didn’t want any of them to. ‘The sooner I go and do this, the sooner I can get back upstairs.’

  ‘But you were out yesterday afternoon too. For three hours.’

  What was he, her time sheet? She wasn’t ac countable to him. Not on this.

  ‘You can’t let this opportunity go, Sophy. Your work is too good.’

  That made her even more tense—she felt pressure enough without him making sweet comments like that. ‘I really have to go, Lorenzo.’ She looked past him down the stairs. ‘And it really isn’t any of your business.’ He wouldn’t open up to her at all, so why should he have the right to comment on her life?

  ‘Sophy,’ he said quietly, leaning forward and branding her lips with the heat of his. ‘At least be quick.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ‘SOPHY, can you come with me, please?’ Lorenzo met her as she walked into the building.

  She glanced at Kat behind the reception desk, hoping the girl hadn’t picked up on the chill in his words. ‘Of course.’

  Was he mad with her? She hadn’t returned to the warehouse yesterday—had got held up completely until the early evening. Her sister had come round and it had turned into a whole family gathering. She’d made excuses and gone after a while—but she needn’t have hurried. Lorenzo hadn’t come round, had left no message on her phone. It was the first night they hadn’t had sex all week. And stupidly she’d had less sleep than ever. So she really wasn’t in the mood to have a hard time from him.

  He led her out the back and gestured for her to get into his car.

  ‘Where are we going?’ She fixed her seat belt—he already had the engine running.

  ‘You’ll see.’ He fiddled with the stereo and put the music up loud. What, he didn’t want conversation?

  ‘I had a nice night, thanks.’ She chit chatted really loudly just to annoy him. He didn’t want to talk personal? Tough. ‘Big dinner with my parents and Victoria and Ted. It’s my niece’s birthday this weekend so we were celebrating early. Rosanna sent a text. She’s in Sydney for a few days.’

  He gave her a sideways look but said nothing.

  Yeah, she loved having conversations by herself. So she gave up. They drove through half of Auckland and she relaxed into the comfortable seat. Suddenly she sat up. ‘Lorenzo, this is the airport.’

  ‘And we’re right on time.’

  On time for what? ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘Have you ever gotten on a plane and not known the destination?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘Now’s your chance.’

  ‘Lorenzo—’

  ‘Have you ever taken a risk? Gone with an impulse?’

  ‘Maybe,’ she said cautiously. Like the time she’d come on to him with the basketball.

  He parked the car, crossed his arms and called her on it. ‘What are you going to do, Sophy? Play it safe or walk on the wild side? Come on an adventure.’

  ‘How wild an adventure?’

  ‘Totally legal.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Honestly, don’t make a big deal about it, you’ll end up disappointed.’

  She didn’t think so. She didn’t think she’d ever be disappointed when he was offering adventure.

  He got out of the car. ‘Are you coming or what?’

  As if she could say no. He loaded a surprisingly heavy-looking suitcase onto a trolley and headed to the check-in. She wasn’t worried. It wasn’t as if they were going to go overseas—he didn’t have her passport, this was the domestic terminal.

  ‘We’re flying back tonight, right?’ She’d better check on that though.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then when?’

  ‘Sunday.’

  Sunday? ‘Lorenzo, I can’t. I promised my brother I’d organise the cupcakes for my niece’s party.’

  ‘Were you going to bake them?’

  ‘They’re not that hard.’ She nibbled her lower lip. ‘Oh, I can’t, Lorenzo. I can’t let him down. I can’t let her down.’ But she was disappointed for herself more than anything.

  ‘Do you have to be at the party?’

  ‘No. It’s for her little friends. I was just making the cakes. She likes the icing I do.’

  ‘Someone else can do icing.’

  Who? Baking wasn’t something anyone else in her family did.

  ‘Phone a bakery and get them to deliver,’ Lorenzo said, as if he were instructing a small child. He was right, of course. It would be so easy.

  ‘It’s short notice.’

  ‘Just offer to pay double and they’ll do it.’

  She laughed. ‘Is that how you get what you want? Offer to pay?’

  ‘No. That wouldn’t work with you. I have to come up with other alternatives.’ He grinned. ‘Like abduction.’

  She chomped on her lip some more. So tempted.

  ‘Phone up and get it done.’ He gave her a sideways look. ‘What else did you have scheduled for the weekend?’

  ‘A few things.’ Sophy dug out her phone and her diary. ‘What am I going to tell them?’

  ‘The truth.’

  ‘I don’t want to.’

  ‘You don’t want to say you’re running off for a dirty long weekend?’

  Oh, she couldn’t hesitate now. ‘We’re a secret, remember?’

  She got on and made the calls. It took the whole twenty minutes they had left on the ground to rearrange everything she’d agreed to do in the weekend.

  She put the phone away but her practical-oriented brain presented her with the next set of problems.

  He lifted her face to his. ‘What’s wrong now?’

  ‘I don’t have any clothes with me.’

  ‘You don’t need any.’

  ‘Oh, we’re going to a naturist colony? Awesome.’ She aimed for sarcastic but was burning inside with the naughty promise of his words. ‘They don’t mind furry teeth either?’

  He laughed. ‘There are shops where we’re going. We can get you a tooth brush, okay?’

  ‘Fabulous.’

  The flight was only just over an hour. Christchurch. She knew the
destination now, of course—the signs and the pilot’s message had given that one away. She was fine with it. Christchurch was a nice city and she hadn’t been there in ages.

  But when they got into the rental car he headed straight onto the bypass and the motorway north.

  ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘I told you, you’ll see.’

  After forty minutes or so she thought she had it figured. The rows and rows of vines in the fields gave it away. Waipara—part of the wine region.

  ‘We’re staying on a vineyard?’

  ‘No.’ He kept driving.

  It was another hour, passing along side a river and the weird shaped cabbage trees that looked like something Dr Seuss would have drawn. A few sheep were scattered in the fields. And then they got there—to Hanmer Springs, an Alpine spa town in the heart of a geo-thermal area. He slowed down as they drove through the main street of the village.

  ‘Look, swimsuit shop on the right,’ he pointed out. ‘Leopard print number in the window gets my vote.’

  Oh, please.

  ‘Superette on the left for tooth paste and other essentials.’ He pointed with his hand. ‘Bakery for the best pies in the country.’

  She chuckled. ‘Everything one could possibly need.’

  ‘That’s right. Now I’m going back to Waipara for some meetings.’ Halfway up the hill he pulled up in front of a house. ‘You’re staying here.’

  She got out of the car. He was leaving her? She walked up the path slowly, not caring enough to appreciate the pretty wooden chalet he’d just unlocked. When was she getting the ‘dirt’ in the weekend? Inside he’d opened the big suitcase. Carefully packed inside was all her gear—all her tools, all her unfinished work. She stared at it, then at him.

  ‘I’m not letting you throw away this opportunity, Sophy,’ he said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders. ‘Not even for hot sex with me.’

  ‘Lorenzo—’

  ‘Give me your phone.’ He held out his hand.

  She pulled it from her purse and gave it to him.

  He switched it off and put it in his pocket. ‘You have no excuses now. You have to finish them.’ His expression softened. ‘I’ve booked you into the spa at four p.m. for a massage and whatever other treatments you feel like.’

  ‘Really?’ Her spirits lifted a fraction.

  ‘Uh-huh.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘But you have to do nothing, and I mean nothing, but work until then—deal?’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘And you’ll have to walk down to the spa because I’m taking the car.’

  ‘That’s okay.’ She nodded again. ‘Thanks.’

  But she was disappointed. She ached for him. And he’d played on that—used it to set her up. She’d cleared her weekend to be with him, but now she had nothing to do but finish her pieces for the show.

  She supposed she’d thank him one day.

  He kissed her, drew away way too soon. But at least he groaned as he did. He put his hands behind his back. ‘Nothing but work. Nothing.’

  She managed a laugh and watched him go. As he got to the car she couldn’t stop herself calling after him through the open door. ‘You’ll be back later?’

  ‘Count on it.’

  She turned back inside and looked at her stuff. She had all afternoon. All day Saturday and Sunday too. With no phone, no outside contact—no one calling. Suddenly she felt it—liberation. And she did as he’d bid. It only took twenty minutes to set herself up and then she worked. In the silence, alone, she got into the zone. Her enthusiasm for it returned, as did her confidence. She studied her options, assessing the work she had completed and her pages of notes for other styles. She deliberated carefully before making a decision. She wanted her work to be thematically linked, but for each piece to stand uniquely, to showcase a broad range.

  There was a harsh ringing. She literally jumped three feet in the air. Spun round, looking for the source of the noise. It was the landline of the holiday home. ‘Hello?’

  ‘You need to go now or you’ll miss your appointment.’

  ‘Oh.’ She looked at her watch. ‘Is it that time already?’

  He chuckled. ‘You’ve been hard at it, haven’t you?’

  She leaned against the bench and let the smile out. ‘Yes. Thank you.’ She meant it this time.

  It was a ten minute walk down the hill to the thermal pool complex, but she jogged it in five—so she had time to pick up a swimsuit from the store first. She walked straight past the leopard print but stopped at the rack of crimson costumes. There was a two piece the exact shade of part of the graffiti piece on Lorenzo’s fence. She grabbed the one in her size—hoped the cut would be okay. She paid and ran—not wanting to be late.

  She went for the full facial, full massage option. An hour and a half of pure bliss. At the end she couldn’t have peeled herself off the table if she’d tried. The beautician left her to relax. Her private room had its own small pool of thermally heated, mineral-laden, olive-green water for her to melt into at her leisure. When she regained some kind of muscle control, that was.

  She was almost asleep, lying on her tummy, when she heard him.

  ‘Are you ready for your massage, ma’am?’

  She smiled. She recognised the thread in that voice. ‘I’ve already had my massage, thanks.’

  ‘This one is a little special.’

  She felt his hands circling over her back.

  ‘Crimson,’ he muttered. ‘Good choice.’

  She didn’t roll over—for one thing she couldn’t, for another she didn’t want him to see how slight the triangles covering her breasts were. Not yet anyway—she was still getting used to them herself.

  But he couldn’t have been that into the bikini because in less than a minute he was pushing the briefs down. He lifted her foot, then the other to get the garment off—and when he placed each foot back he spread them a little further apart. Slid his hands hard up her calves, up the backs of her thighs…

  She bit her lip, anticipation flooding her. ‘Lorenzo, there are people every where.’

  ‘I locked the door.’ His ‘massage’ took an incredibly intimate turn.

  ‘They’ll hear us,’ she said breathlessly.

  ‘No, they’ll hear you.’ He laughed and bent to nip her butt while his thumbs stroked into the space between. ‘Of course,’ he added thoughtfully, ‘you don’t have to come. Women don’t have to orgasm every time, do they? You can still enjoy sex regardless, right? It won’t bother me.’

  ‘How magnanimous of you.’ She clutched the towel beneath her and tilted up to give him better access. It was one hell of a massage.

  He murmured, mouth moist on her skin as he manipulated her—faster, deeper. ‘Think of it as a challenge. I dare you not to come.’

  She rocked, pushing harder onto him, her voice leaping three octaves. ‘I can’t not!’

  He whipped his hands away and flipped her over. He was already naked, and in a moment was above her. He held her face hard between his hands, kissing her savagely while he surged into her. Her scream came out in another way—her fingernails raking down his back. He arched harder, his thrusts even more powerful.

  It made it even better.

  ‘Does anyone know about the show?’

  They were in the water, cheeks flushed from the heat, bodies floating.

  ‘Only Rosanna,’ Sophy answered lazily. ‘She got me the chance. One of her flirts sponsors the film festival.’

  ‘And no one else?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Sophy.’

  ‘What?’ She gazed at him candidly. ‘It’s not like you’re an open book, Lorenzo. You keep everything from everybody.’

  He frowned. ‘Only the bad stuff.’

  What, his whole life was bad? She just didn’t believe that.

  ‘Why don’t you want to tell your family?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m going to. But I want them to see the stuff first—so I can see what they really think. And not just be nice becau
se they know it was made by me.’

  ‘What they think matters that much to you?’

  ‘Sure,’ she said. ‘They’re my family.’

  He went quiet.

  ‘I want them to be proud of me.’ She tried to explain.

  ‘There’s no way they’re not proud of you already.’

  She smiled. But he was wrong. She’d let them down. ‘I’m not like them.’ But she didn’t explain it further. Rather she let her hands slide over him—her reward for a long day of hard work. ‘You were wrong.’

  ‘What about?’

  ‘This just can’t be legal.’

  He laughed.

  ‘I’m serious. It feels too good.’

  ‘I’ve got a secret for you, honey,’ he whispered into her mouth. ‘Only the things that are right feel this good.’

  And that was the moment her heart liquefied. She tipped her head back to look up at him—a long, searching look. But his gaze slid from her and then the rest of him did.

  He splashed up the steps out of the pool. ‘We need to get moving.’

  ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’

  ‘A couple of my growers are coming in to Hanmer and we’re going out to dinner.’

  ‘What, like at a restaurant?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He turned on the shower.

  ‘And it’s okay for me to turn up in my bikini?’

  He laughed under the stream of water. ‘Absolutely.’

  ‘Well, what else am I going to wear? My crushed suit from today?’

  She was naked.

  He left the shower running for her and wrapped a towel round his hips. While under the hot jet she watched him open his backpack. He pulled out another pair of jeans and tossed them on the massage table for her.

  She switched off the water. ‘I’m not going to meet people wearing your clothes.’

  ‘Sophy—’ he sent her a look ‘—relax. It’s not a fancy restaurant. Just nice people, nice food.’ It was a fancy restaurant and wearing nothing but a pair of men’s jeans that hung on her and a tourist tee shirt from the spa shop wasn’t her idea of fancy restaurant attire. And, worse, wearing his jeans turned her on.

  ‘Hi, Lorenzo. You must be Sophy.’ So he’d mentioned her to them? She felt an absurdly warm glow about that.

  To her relief the older couple were in jeans too and were full of welcoming smiles. Lorenzo explained that Charlotte and Rob Wilson had one of the largest holdings that supplied grapes to one of his labels. They were led to a table, talk turned to food and wine and business.